How in space could I have missed?! thought Torian K'il to himself as his rage increased all the more. His proton cannons had not met with their intended target: a witness to the explosion of the starship Millennial. Clutching the controls of his own sleek fighter, specially crafted for a lone assassin, Torian did three slow barrel rolls and whirled closer to the other vessel. Honing in on the unwelcome guest with his custom targeting computer, the Rodian fired again.

This time both of my shots have connected! Ha, ha! They've hit the left wing, causing some damage, but not enough. Fighting the urge to succumb to unconsciousness, Torian suddenly noticed an Aurek fighter struggling to escape the intense heat, shockwaves, and flying hunks of shrapnel that were still careening around in space. You too must die, fools! he sneered, firing two more proton beams at the Aurek craft. As each beam hit, his screams increased in volume until they were deafening.

At last! My Prophet wins! The Aurek did not have a chance to dodge the two proton beams, and they had nearly melted the outer hull. Torian's eyes, once black, now appeared a silver-grey, which meant only one thing:

They were filling up with fluid. The Rodian had withstood G-forces that no normal human or alien could, and now he was paying the full price. As he struggled to keep a lookout for who and who was not still alive, Torian panicked. He was going blind, and there was absolutely no way to stop it.

INSIDE ESCAPE POD 01, HEADED FOR THE ASTEROID N'TALA

Perdante shuddered again, but this time, not from despair or another wave of the pain of death overcoming her. At this moment, she felt an emotion that had abandoned her as soon as she found out that Pauel was dead: hope.

"Someone's coming," she said excitedly, turning to Sal. "Or, they've just arrived. They're witnesses to the scene--another ship. They've come to save us!" Then, a tsunami of doubt swamped her voice. "That, or they have arrived at the Millennial's explosion site at exactly the wrong time. They don't give a fig about us, or what just happened. They want to survive."

She squeezed his hand. "Either way, that buys us and the others more time."